Liquid Phase Sintering Optimization in PM Steels by Studying the Wetting Behavior at High Temperature of Master Alloys on Iron Substrates

摘要

In the study of liquid phase sintering from liquid-promoters of complex compositions, the features of the liquid phase, wetting angle and the fluidity, are the base of a proper sintering. In this work, time and temperature dependence of the contact angle has been measured (using a Kriiss equipment) to determine the wettability of the master alloys designed by Thermo Calc. The discussion is based on the contact angle evolution with temperature with sintering time. The behavior of the master alloys as ingots processed by melting in an induction furnace was studied on iron sintered substrates with high density level and low roughness. The fluidity has been considered through infiltration experiments of those ingots on green iron specimens. The distribution of the alloying elements was studied by EDS analysis and line scanning profiles. The results are compared with a parallel testing of a well-known liquid phase former, copper.